William c



W. C. ALLISON.

Car- Seat.

ifPatented Nov. 8. 1859.

Inventor Mtneehses WILLIAM G. ALLISON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOHN MURPHY, OF SAME PLACE.

MODE OF CONFINING SEATS OF DRIVERS 0N CITY RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 26,066, dated November 8, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. ALLIsoN, of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Drivers Seat for City Railway-Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in the combination of a board hinged to the front of a car, a

rod with a collar, and a catch attached to the car, the said rod serving the double purpose of supporting the seat when the latter is in use and, in conjunction with the catch, of maintaining the seat folded up out of the way, the whole being arranged in the manner described hereafter, so as to form a seat which affords every accommodation to the driver, and which can be raised out of the way so as to present no obstruction on a crowded platform when the driver wishes to dispense with his seat.

In order to enable others to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and adaptation to city railway cars.

On reference to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specificationFigure l is a side view of my improved seat for the driver of a city railway car. Fig. 2 is a sectional view. Fig. 3 a ground plan, and Fig. 4: a view of the retaining catch.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents the front end of an ordinary passenger car for city railways, B the platform on which the driver stands, C the dash board, and D the drivers seat. The latter consists of a board hinged at m to the front end A of the car.

To the under side and near the front end of this board is jointed the bent end 6 of the rod E, the lower end of which passes through an orifice in the platform B, at or near the point where the latter meets the front end A of the car. Above this orifice and to the platform B is secured a metal plate a through which passes the rod E'and on which rests the collar F of the rod when the seat is adjusted for use.

To the front end of the car, and below the point where the seat is hinged, is secured a small metal catch in the recess of which the rod E fits when the seat is raised out of the way, as seen in Fig. 2.

When the seat is lowered, as seen in Fig. 1, it is efficiently supported by the rod, and by the collar F of the latter resting on the plate a, the seat being so situated as to present suitable accommodation for the driver:

When it is desirable to raise the seat out of the way, it is simply turned up against the end of the car, the rod striking against the rounded end of the catch a, and in sliding over the latter bends laterally and finally springs into the recess where it is held until the seat has to be again lowered for use, in which case the rod is bent outward from the catch and the seat readily falls to the position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be observed on reference to Fig. 2, that when the seat D is raised it occupies a position parallel to the front part of the car in which a panel may be formed to receive it.

The rod E owing to its bent end e occupies a position parallel, or nearly so, to the front of the car and seat when the latter is elevated, so that both seat and rod present little or no obstruction when the driver, owing to the crowding of the platform or other cause, desires to dispense with the use of a seat.

I wish it to be understood that I do not claim broadly a board hinged to a car, so as to form a seat for the driver nor do I claim supporting such a board by means of a diagonal rod pivoted to the said board, as both are well known devices; but

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent The combination of the board D, rod E, with its collar f, and the catch a, when the said rod serves the double purpose of supporting the seat and in conjunction with the catch n, of maintaining the seat folded up out of the way, and when the several parts are arranged on the front of the car as and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WVILLIAM O. ALLISON.

Witnesses:

JAMES L. HOWARD, CHAS. E. FOSTER. 

